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A Stain on the Silence
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd (2006-04-27)
ISBN: 0718147499
EAN: 9780718147495
Hardcover: 352 pages
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Customer Reviews
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Wild oats that bite back.....
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-10-01
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a good pschological thriller - Andrew Taylor writes well and the style he uses in this book gradually drip feeds you the back story as the present conflict unfolds and this keeps you reading - I really enjoyed it and rattled through it in a couple of days.
I liked the premise for the book - Samuel Becket said his work was the only thing the made life worthwhile, his way of leaving "a stain on the silence"! - according to Andrew Taylor most of us leave children but what if we don't know about them!!! This book is all about things that are done in our youth but then come back to bite us. We all probably have a few of those!!!
This book along with "The Barred Window" remind me of Ruth Rendell when she has her Barbara Vine head on. I would definitely recommend it and must now read "The Raven on the Water". If you have not read any of his previous novels try them they are all great - especially "The American Boy" and the "Roth Trilogy".
I can't wait for "Bleeding Heart Square".
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Must read
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-06-14
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is very different to Taylor's fascinating historical novel the American Boy, yet his absorbing style remains. A fantastic read.
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Such great potential.....
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-05-11
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
James is called to visit Lily, a long-lost "friend" who is dying, only to be told that their earlier relationship (he as a juvenile and she as an older married woman) produced a child he didn't know about. That child now needs help because she fears she is wanted for murder. It is a complication in James' life he doesn't need, as he is happily married etc., but Lily induces his co-operation because he too has a dark secret only Lily knows about.
Taylor weaves a very interesting tale, offering clues in installments, as James shuffles between protecting Kate today and recalling the circumstances of his infatuation and relationship with Lily. Taylor is very clever in his use of the drip-feed, closing chapters with bombshells and using the next chapter to take us to the other time zone - this formula compelling us to keep ploughing on!
The novel is well-written, has some good lines and has great ingredients for an absorbing plot.
Why then spoil it all with such an unsatisfactory close? Taylor could really have done better than produce such a hurried finish which I clearly won't give away here.
I will still look out for more of his books in the hope that the "failing" here, in an otherwise excellent read, is a one-off. 7/10
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It doesn't do what it says on the tin
Rating  (2)
Date: 2007-02-19
7 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
I bought this book on the strength of a previous Andrew Taylor book - The American Boy - which I thoroughly enjoyed. Great characters, very atmospheric, fully of suspense and anticipation.
However for me this story just didn't really get going. The characters seemed one dimensional so it's difficult to understand the motives behind their behaviour and therefore to make real sense of the story as it unfolds. The main male character James just seemed like an absolute wet weekend. If like Kate, I found out he was my father, I'd be running in the opposite direction like a dose of sauce. He seemed to be completely without any kind of backbone and had no understanding of how to manage relationships with women.
Carlo on the other hand had the potential to be an really exciting character - real charm and menace is hinted at but never really explored in any kind of satifactory way which is such a shame.
I have to say I was suprised to read the plaudits on the book jacket from the Daily Telegraph, Time-Out and The Times. They implied this was a page turner from one of Britain's best writers of psychological suspense but for me it just doesn't live up to their claims - hence the title of my review.
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Retail Price: £12.99
Amazon.com's Price:£0.01
That's 100% Off!
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